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.The Huntress internally shuddered when she thought about the horde of exuberant, questioning, ceaselessly moving winged children descending upon sleepy, unsuspecting Partholon villages.The children didn’t understand that not everyone was as pleased to meet them as they were to meet Partholon.“I don’t think I’ve told you this, but you remind me very much of Elphame,” Etain said, breaking the easy silence that had fallen between them.Completely surprised, Brighid stared at her, wide-eyed.“Oh, don’t look so shocked.The two of you have become close friends, haven’t you?”“Yes, but…” Brighid gulped nervously.“Yes, Elphame and I have become close friends.”“You know you and Brenna were the first friends she had outside our family.”Brighid hesitated, thinking before she blurted something inappropriate.“I don’t think El ever told us—that is Brenna and me—in those words, but we knew it without her saying anything.” The Huntress drew a deep breath and met the priestess’s eyes.“I don’t think many people wanted to get too close to a living Goddess.”“That’s what El said.More times than I care to count.But you were willing to get close to her.Why?”“She accepted me as I am,” Brighid said without hesitation.“That’s why Brenna became friends with her so quickly, too.It wasn’t that El didn’t see Brenna’s scars—it was impossible not to.Just like it was impossible not to see that joining Clan MacCallan was an escape for me.It’s not that the scars and the radical centaur family didn’t matter to your daughter, it’s just that she accepted them.Easily.Without conditions.”“And in return you accepted her—Elphame—not the Goddess the rest of the world sees.”“Oh, I saw the Goddess.I still do.So did Brenna.It’s just that we mostly sawher.And Elphame is a mixture of both—woman and Goddess, centaur and human.And now she’s friend as well as Chieftain.”Brighid sighed, frustrated by the inadequate words.“Does that make sense? When I say it, it sounds…I don’t know…not enough.”“I know exactly what you mean, child,” Etain said.“Which is why I said that you remind me of her.You and Elphame view the world the same.You’re both strong, logical females who don’t tolerate nonsense and don’t want to waste time on pretenses and excuses.I like you, Huntress.I like that you are friends with my daughter.And I believe that very shortly I will owe you a debt of gratitude.”“I am honored, my Lady,” Brighid said roughly around the knot of emotion that had lodged in the back of her throat.“But you owe me no debt.I hold no voucher for my friendship with your daughter.”“The debt is not for Elphame.It is for Cuchulainn.”“Cuchulainn? But I haven’t really done anything—” Etain’s candid turquoise eyes met Brighid’s and the Huntress clamped her lips together, ending her protestation.“Of course you know that his soul has been shattered.”“I’ve known since the day it happened.”“The day Brenna died,” Brighid said.Etain nodded.“It’s been maddeningly frustrating for me—knowing of my son’s pain and not being able to use my powers to fix it…to make it better for him.”Brighid opened her mouth to question Etain, but couldn’t make the words come.How does one question the Beloved of Epona?“Brighid, I am Partholon’s High Priestess, and the Chosen Incarnate of Epona, but I am also a mother and a woman who laughs and cries and loves like any other woman.There is no need for you to be afraid to ask me questions.”Brighid looked at the beautiful, regal woman who rode beside her and was, again, amazed at Etain’s honesty and accessibility.No wonder the people of Partholon were so wholly devoted to her.Brighid drew in a deep breath before she spoke.“Why can’t you fix Cu? Why can’t you retrieve his shattered soul?” she asked quietly.Etain sighed.“First of all, I am not a Shaman.Yes, I can travel to the Otherworld—I do so regularly, but I do so to be in the presence of Epona and to do the Goddess’s business.I rarely interact with the spirits that inhabit the different realms.Not that I haven’t ached to search for Cu’s shattered soul.That was my initial reaction when I realized what had happened to him.” The priestess’s smile was small and quirked a little to the side.“Epona had a very different view of what I should do.” She looked at Brighid and moved her shoulders that were draped in luxurious golden fabric.“I have a tendency to want to rescue my children, even though they are no longer children.My logic tells me this is not good for them.My heart tells me something else entirely.I am grateful that my Goddess stays near to my heart, even when she forces me to keep to my logic.”Brighid frowned.“So Epona kept you from fixing Cu?”“At first.Then I realized that this was not a pain from which a mother could protect her child.He needed to grieve for his lost love, even if his grief was tearing his soul asunder.Grief is part of the healing process.And I believe you’ve witnessed the alternative for yourself.”Brighid blinked in surprise.“You mean the shattered part of Cu’s soul.”“Yes.He’s come to you in your dreams, hasn’t he?”Brighid snorted.“Cu said you know everything.”Etain laughed.“Just everything important.”“Yes,” she admitted, “he’s come to my dreams.”“And what did you learn about him except that he is a terrible rogue?” Etain’s eyes sparkled at the Huntress.“That he’s singled-minded about his pleasure and…”“…And?”“And endearing and charismatic and boyish,” she muttered.Etain smiled.“Thathe certainly is.But what did you learn about him that was not so endearing?”“He’s completely in denial.He can’t, or won’t, face any emotional difficulty.The instant I mention Brenna or try to talk to him about what’s really happening in the world—versus the happy pretend place he’s retreated to—he disappears.”“Exactly.If I had stepped in and scooped Cuchulainn up after Brenna’s death, and had done what my heart was begging me to do—cushion him from pain and surround him in the power I have to duplicate Epona’s love—he would not have grieved and he would be eternally as the shattered part of his soul is now, unable to face reality.He would have become a weak, emotionally bereft man who spent a sad life running from his problems.He had to grieve.”“I understand that.But he has grieved.He’s even begun to work through his pain.”“Which is why your soul retrieval will be successful,” Etain said, quickly shaking her head when Brighid began to protest.“This is not the job for a mother.Nor is it a job for Ciara.He needs you to do this for him, Brighid.But more than that, Epona has decreed that it is part of your destiny.”Brighid felt jolted by the Goddess Incarnate’s words.“Epona has spoken of me?” She didn’t realize she’d said her thought aloud until Etain answered her.“Of course.Why would that surprise you? Epona’s presence is very strong in your family.”“But my family…” Brighid floundered, not knowing what to say about the Dhianna Herd’s radical beliefs that centaurs and humans should not interact.“Brighid, you do not need to feel such guilt.Epona has given her people free will—all of her people.Even those who have been richly blessed by her.Along with the gift of free will comes the possibility of mistakes [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]